This is the issue where all hell breaks loose. Princess Ugg #6′s order cut-off date is 11-17. If you’re enjoying Princess Ugg, tell your comic retailer to order TONS OF COPIES! Or at least one for yourself.

8.28.2014
Dragon*Con starts tomorrow in Atlanta, though I understand that festivities are already underway. I’ll be flying in with Unwoman, my awesome go-to Dragon*Con Buddy, who’ll be performing all weekend in the Hyatt’s Concourse (in case your curious.)
As for myself, I’m in the Hyatt’s art room. I’ll be bringing the latest editions of Courtney Crumrin, plus Princess Ugg issues 1 through 3. I’ll also be doing both Black and White and color commissions. I’m also selling limited edition prints. And as ever, witty banter will be provided free.

Just out today is a much more on topic interview with Wayne Hall at Major Spoilers, where we discuss Princess Ugg in depth, the advantages and opportunities for experimentation in comics that aren’t available in mainstream media, the challenges of being a man writing books about girls that boys will like too, and the future of the series.

It’s that time of year again, where I spend way too much money on a swanky hotel and rub elbows with comics most talented creators. In other words, Nerd Prom! Or as some folks call it, Comic-Con International!
I will be signing at the Oni Press exhibition booth every day, and we’ll have Princess Ugg #2 plus lots of other fancy promotional goodies. Didn’t hear about our limited edition Courtney Crumrin bat barrettes? Get ‘em at the Oni booth. Plus, hear about the latest Ugg news, or whatever else I might be blathering about.

A panel of authors, artists, creators, and educators will discuss what characteristics make a fan-favorite villain and what budding creators might want to think about when hatching their own knavish ne’er-do-wells. How have villains of past and present changed? How has their development been affected by the Comics Code Authority? In contemporary society, what do they represent? Are they anti-establishment or part of the establishment? How do affective villains play foil to their heroes? Are they becoming more believable and likeable?

In this panel, we will tackle these questions, along with discussing strategies for designing new and engaging villains. The panel will include questions from the audience and an interactive exercise where we will brainstorm what next year’s SDCC 2015 favorite villain might look like.

James Sime, proprietor of Isotope Comics Lounge, has kindly offered to host a release party for Princess Ugg issue #1. Come by any time from noon to 5pm to get your signed copy. Free sketches to the first three people to give the password, Claymore.

The Final Order Cutoff, or FOC, of Princess Ugg #1 is May 12th. Please tell you retailer right away. Oni Press has created this order form. Print it out, fill it out, and pass it to your retailer right away!

Serena Valentino and I are launching a kickstarter to remaster GloomCookie Vol. 1 !

Serena Valentino and Ted Naifeh are joining forces once again to collect the first six issues of their popular comic book series GloomCookie in a beautiful hard cover 15th anniversary special addition. It will feature some never before printed extras such as pin-ups by Naifeh and script pages by Valentino, and depending on fan support may also include new story and sequential art featuring your favorite GloomCookie characters. Please look for our kickstarter campaign later this month when you will have the opportunity to order your copy as well as the other exciting incentives we have conjured up for you lovelies.

Watch this website for more info about the upcoming Kickstarter campaign. Or go to:serenavalentino.com.

Are you going to Wondercon in Anaheim this weekend? If so, I’ll be at the Oni booth (#213) to sign books and show you a sneak peek of my new series, Princess Ugg. Or you can get an original, one of a kind sketch from yours truly. Any subject you like!

I’m opening my commission list again, taking requests for black-and-white or watercolor pieces. Got a favorite character, like Batman, Disco Dazzler, or perhaps even an obscure favorite like Courtney Crumrin? I’ll draw the hell out of anything you like. I ain’t cheap, but I can be had. For prices and possibilities, please contact my art guy at tednaifehart at gmail.

Yes, you read that right, folks. My friendGayla Twist and I sat down over cider and caramel apples, and got to talking about our love for classic romance novels, and the trend of reinterpreting them for the modern genre audience, and the title “A Broom with a View” drifted across the table, as if magically out of thin air.

We quickly abandoned the idea of just shoehorning magic and monsters into an old book, deciding instead to recreate the story of the beloved E.M. Forster novel, “A Room with a View,” as a romance between a soulful vampire and an adventurous young witch. We then realized that we wanted to make a more radical departure from the original material, setting the story against the backdrop of a war between the two supernatural peoples, turning the whole tale into a spooky Romeo and Juliet story. By then, we decided we weren’t plotting a gimmicky version of “Room with a View,” but an original story that borrows parts of E.M. Forster’s plot structure.

Thus was born A Broom with a View, the adventures of Violet Popplewell, naive country witch, and her unlikely romance with the self-hating vampire Sebastian, as a war between witches and vampires comes to a boiling point. Gayla and I plotted the book together, and she wrote it out. It’s available now as an ebook on Amazon, which you can buy here:

We’re looking forward to more reader reviews. This is a grassroots effort, so we could use all the word of mouth we can get. Check it out, and by all means, let us know what you think, either on Amazon or Facebook and Twitter.